The invention relates to the simplified loading of a hinged protective cassette containing a hub with magnetic tape wound thereon into a tape transport apparatus of the type known, for example, through U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,803 and through U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,933, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In these tape transports packs are wound on and unwound from hubs on shafts which are rotatably mounted upon carriages slideable towards and away from the capstan as the diameter of the supply tape pack decreases and that of the take-up tape pack increases during the tape transporting operation, these two carriages being urged towards and the tape packs being driven by the capstan.
In order to load tape onto such a transport unit it is necessary that several steps be performed in a specific sequence. The carriage upon which the shaft for the supply hub is mounted must be retracted against the above mentioned spring forces urging it towards the capstan far enough to permit the hub with the tape pack to be snapped onto the shaft without interference with the capstan. The retraction must be even further, of course, if the supply hub and tape pack are housed within a protective cassette at the time when the hub is snapped onto the shaft. This is likely to be the case, since a major purpose of such a cassette is to protect the tape pack and to provide easy handling, making it desirable that the tape remain within the cassette as long as possible and, therefore, as the tape is initially loaded into the tape transport apparatus. Given the presence of a cassette, another required step is the gaining of access to the tape once the hub (still within the cassette) is snapped onto the supply shaft and ready for advancement towards the capstan. Once the protective cassette is unlocked, it is desirable that access to the tape be prevented to minimize the possibility of damage to the tape, so a lock on the access door through which or into which the cassette was inserted should be actuated to prevent opening the door. Finally, the supply reel must be advanced toward and come in contact with the capstan in order to be driven therefrom in the subsequent threading and recording operations.
As can be seen from the operations listed above, loading a tape pack within a cassette involves several sequenced steps which require not only a certain degree of knowledge on the part of the operator but also a certain degree of care to prevent damage to the tape and/or transport unit from improper loading. The present invention has been developed in order to simplify and expedite the loading (and unloading) process by means of a dependable and not unduly complex mechanism.